Shivamogga: Areca plantation burnt into ashes
More than Rs 25 lakh worth loss incurred
Shivamogga, Jan 07: An areca plantation burnt into ashes when it caught fire accidentally at Veerapura village of Agrahara hobli in Thirthahalli taluk on Monday.
The incident happened in the plantation belonging to Hoovamma. As soon as the news spread, locals and fire brigade tried their level best to douse the fire.
But thousands of areca saplings were burnt into ashes in the fire. It is estimated that areca saplings worth more than Rs 25 lakh were damaged. A case was registered at Malur police station.
The areca plantation was developed on an area of 3.25 acre of land around four years ago. Total 1200 areca samplings and banana plantation was raised. Drip irrigation facility was made pending lakhs of rupees and a pipeline was laid for water supply. Sprinklers and pipeline was also gutted in the fire incident.
“We have developed the plantation spending lakhs of rupees with hard work. Now the entire plantation was gutted in the fire. The government and the concerned authorities should come to our rescue and help us with suitable compensation”, Hoovamma family members demanded.
MLA Araga Jnanendra, former MLA Kimmane Rathnakar, DCC Bank president RM Manjunath Gowda and other elected representatives, Tahsildar, and horticulture department officials visited the place and reviewed the situation. They assured of getting the compensation from the government.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
